Calcic myrmekite in anorthositic and gabbroic rocks
Myrmekite is a common feature of granitic plutonic rocks and quartzo-feldspathic gneisses, but it is rarely reported in anorthositic and gabbroic rocks. The authors have identified myrmekitic intergrowths of quartz and calcic plagioclase in a variety of plagioclase-rich cumulate rocks, including samples from a number of massif anorthosites and layered igneous intrusions. It appears that calcic myrmekite has been frequently overlooked, and is a common accessory feature in these rock types. Chemical and textural characteristics of myrmekite in the St-Urbain massif anorthosite (Quebec) and the Bushveld Igneous Complex (South Africa) have several features in common, but this myrmekite appears to be fundamentally different from that described by most previous investigators. Whereas myrmekite typically consists of a vermicular intergrowth of sodic plagioclase and quartz that occurs adjacent to alkali feldspar, the intergrowths in these rocks contain highly calcic plagioclase and lack the intervening alkali feldspar. In addition, the plagioclase in the myrmekite is more calcic than that in the surrounding rock. The boundary between the myrmekite and the host material is generally extremely sharp, although reverse zoning of host plagioclase may obscure the contact in some cases. The textural and chemical evidence is consistent with a replacement origin for these intergrowths; the proportion of quartz in the myrmekite is in close agreement with the predicted amount of silica that is generated by the theoretical replacement reaction. It appears that water played a key role in the replacement process.
- Research Organization:
- Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6318521
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-8510489-
- Journal Information:
- Geol. Soc. Am., Abstr. Programs; (United States), Journal Name: Geol. Soc. Am., Abstr. Programs; (United States) Vol. 17; ISSN GAAPB
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
580300* -- Mineralogy
Petrology
& Rock Mechanics-- (-1989)
AFRICA
CANADA
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
FELDSPARS
GABBROS
IGNEOUS ROCKS
MINERALOGY
MINERALS
NORTH AMERICA
OXIDE MINERALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLUTONIC ROCKS
QUARTZ
QUEBEC
ROCKS
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SILICON OXIDES
SOUTH AFRICA